


I do make a sound

by ArabellaTurner



Series: What Matters In the End [2]
Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Jared and Evan aren’t technically a couple yet, Light Angst, Sequel, The foundations are there though
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-24
Updated: 2019-01-24
Packaged: 2019-10-15 10:34:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17527151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArabellaTurner/pseuds/ArabellaTurner
Summary: Jared’s arm has finally healed and it’s now time to remove his cast. But with this cast comes a lot of memories for both him and Evan. Some of these memories are good, but some not so much.This takes place during the one month time skip in the last chapter of What Matters in The End. It is weirdly fluffy given the subject matter.





	I do make a sound

**Author's Note:**

> So it was brought to my attention that I never actually dealt with how Evan really broke his arm in What Matters in the End. Somehow despite the heavy topic, this turned out weirdly light and fluffy. For this most part, this is just our six friends actually being happy for once. No one is currently dating anyone in this.
> 
> I probably won’t write any other works about this AU, but if I realize that there are any other major holes or unanswered questions, I might fill them in.

After Evan got his cast off, his arm seemed weirdly bare. He missed being able to look down and see the names written there. Of course he kept it; it sat proudly displayed on a shelf in his room. He loved to hold it up and look at it, but it wasn’t something he could carry around with him.

Everyone came with Evan to celebrate the removal of his cast and they would be doing the same thing for Jared later that day. Evan knew that Jared was counting down the days until he was allowed to start bowling again, but for now they would just celebrate with pizza and a movie marathon.

It was really nice to have friends who cared about each other so much. It was something he had never expected and apparently something in another life he had failed to truly achieve. There was still a lot Evan didn’t really know about the world Jared had once lived through, but he didn’t want to press Jared to talk about it more than he felt comfortable. Besides, Evan still had his own secretes.

He wasn’t really sure why he still kept it a secret. He knew that in the other world Jared had tried to kill himself and Connor had actually succeeded, so they were no strangers to the concept. He also knew that no one would think less of him for it, yet Evan just couldn’t find the right moment to bring it up.

Evan told himself he wouldn’t lie to his new friends and for the most part he did a good job of it. He also told them any time he was feeling down and reached out when he was lonely. He was completely certain that he was never going to feel the way he did that day ever again.

Yet maybe it was because things were going so well that Evan hesitated to tell anyone. Back when everyone was just becoming friends and tensions were high, buried secrets and emotions came up, but right now things were going smoothly. And even if there were little squabbles, they usually ended pretty easily.

Everyone was trying so hard to pick back up their broken pieces and become whole. Evan didn’t feel any need to bring up past pain that would only depress them. Especially in front of Jared. Evan was certain that telling Jared would only hurt him. Somehow he was spared from the truth in his last life and Evan had no desire to change it this time. It was enough to know that if he ever actually fell, he would in fact make a sound.

————

“Evan! Evan! Earth to Evan! You still with us?” Miguel waved his hand in front of Evan’s face. Noticing his unresponsiveness, Connor blew into Evan’s ear. Evan jumped up in fright, yelping. It snapped him out of his daze though.

Zoe frowned disapprovingly. “Connor, how many times do I have to tell you not to torment poor Evan?” Connor shrugged. “I got his attention.” Zoe rolled her eyes, but smiled anyways. Her brother was still as much the problem child as ever, but it was in a far more endearing way now. Their relationship was still somewhat rocky at times and there was still some residual fear, but Zoe was now certain that her brother had a good heart and he clearly cared a lot about his friends.

Once Evan had calmed down and shot a death glare at Connor, he turned back to Miguel. “Sorry. Did I space out there?” “Only a lot. Alana texted to say that she and Jared will be here in a couple of minutes.” As Miguel was talking, they heard the sound of Jared laying on the horn. 

Walking out to the driveway, they found Jared leaning over from the passenger seat to press it while Alana tried her best to shove him away. 

Despite the car belonging to Jared, Alana was the one driving. Jared wasn’t allowed to drive with one arm, so Alana had offered to stop by Jared’s place and pick him and his car up since Zoe’s car could only fit four people. They were going to celebrate at the Murphy’s house, so Evan and Miguel made their way over earlier to help set up.

When Jared spotted his friends in the driveway, he stopped pressing the horn to wave. Alana used that opportunity to shove him back into the passenger’s seat and give him a look. Jared grinned innocently back at her.

Once everyone had piled in, they made their way to the hospital, talking and laughing the whole ride.

————

The first thing Jared did after waking up that morning, was pull out the box and admire the bracelets one more time. They were just simple silver bands, but they were engraved with the names of all six friends. 

Jared had noticed the way Evan would look down at his arm and seem disappointed to remember his cast was gone. Given his own reassurance from seeing the names on his cast, it was clear to Jared why Evan felt that way.

So he placed an order. It hadn’t been cheap, but Jared was sure that it would be worth it. Plus he just really enjoyed the idea of wearing matching bracelets with Evan. Call him a middle school girl, but it was the sort of sappy idea that Jared loved.

He planned on wearing the bracelet as soon as his cast was removed so his friends would notice it when they examined his arm. Then when Evan asked about it, he would take the other and put it on his arm. It was a perfect plan.

Grinning in anticipation, Jared quickly got ready and went downstairs to eat breakfast and wait for Alana.

————

Now that Evan was in the car with him, Jared found himself fiddling with the little baggy holding the bracelets in his pocket. As they reached a red light, Jared felt Alana’s hand brush against his, reassuring him. He was glad he told her about his plan already. 

When they arrived at the hospital, everyone climbed out of the car. Evan ran to Jared’s side. “Excited to have your arm back?” he asked with a grin. “Excited to be able to play video games again,” Jared responded. “Still no bowling or weight lifting though.” Evan patted his friend on the shoulder. “Also think I need to be careful jerking off. I don’t want to end up like you!” Evan’s eyes grew wide. “Why you little...” he cried out as he lunged at Jared who expertly dodged the attack. Laughing, they chased each other around the parking lot until an “ahem” and a disapproving glare from Zoe stopped them. Alana tried to look disapproving as well, but her mouth kept twitching back into a smile.

A little more subdued now, the gang went inside. Everyone settled into the waiting room. A few minutes later, Jared was called back. He winked and made a single finger gun. “First thing I plan to do when the cast is gone is make the other one!” Jared walked away cackling at the chorus of groans elicited from his friends.

————

Half an hour later, Jared emerged with the cast held tightly under his good arm. Just like Evan, he planned on keeping it in bedroom. Maybe he would even take it with him to college. In his good hand he held Evan’s bracelet while his was already placed on his other wrist. It felt weird to be free of the cast, but the weight of the bracelet felt good. He was certain that Evan was going to like his.

Jared beamed and made a finger gun at his friends. “Remind me again why we came all the way out here for you?” Connor asked. “You know you love me Murphy,” Jared responded with an eyebrow waggle. “In your dreams!” both Murphy siblings responded. Everyone laughed. 

“Let’s take a look at it,” Alana said, trying to direct the conversation towards Jared’s plans. She gave a little nod with her head for Evan to take a look. Carefully, he picked up Jared’s arm and examined it. “It looks good. You’ll heal up nicely,” he said, pretending like breaking his own arm made him an authority on the subject.

Evan examined the bracelet on Jared’s arm more closely. At a distance, he thought it was a hospital bracelet, but now that he was up closer it was obviously made of metal. His eyes grew watery when he saw what was written on it. “This is such a good idea, Jared! That way you’ll never lose those precious names. I should get one myself.”

Evan smiled a little as he felt Jared tug on his left hand. He wasn’t surprised to feel a ring of metal slip along his own wrist. By this point he knew Jared well enough that when he saw his bracelet, he knew that one of his own was on the way. He was still immensely grateful. The bracelet nicely filled the void the cast had left. And now instead of being reminded of his botched suicide, we was reminded of the kindness of his best friend.

He wrapped his arms around Jared and held him close. His heart throbbed within his chest. “Thank you. This means the world to me. I will treasure it forever.” Jared held Evan close too. “And I will treasure you forever,” he thought to himself.

Once they had released each other, everyone else gathered around to examine Jared’s arm and the bracelets. Jared high-fived Alana from behind his back. 

The ride back to the Murphy’s was fun. Jared still wasn’t allowed to drive, so Zoe took over the wheel this time. Before they departed, she warned Connor that if he caused any problems, he would be walking the rest of the way. “Connor? Cause problems?!” Miguel said, aghast. Connor laughed and swatted at his friend.

————

Connor almost made to back to the house before Zoe kicked him out of the car. He protested a little, but it was only a five minute walk. Alana had a sneaking suspicion that Zoe just really wanted to make good on her threat and a quick wink from Zoe confirmed her theory.

By the time everyone had gotten out of the car and locked the doors, Connor was already by the front door, an amused smirk on his face. 

The party was a lot of fun. Everyone stuffed themselves with pizza and enjoyed all of the terrible movies Jared suggested they watch. Connor did threaten to suffocate him with a pillow if he didn’t stop quoting the Bee Movie though. Alana responded by handing Connor her pillow.

As the day wore on, the six friends let their cares slip away. All besides Evan. He kept looking down at the bracelet. To him it represented everything that had gone right in his life since that fateful day. So much had changed.

As he watched his friends laughing, he wondered if this was a secret he should take to the grave or one he should let them in on. 

Noticing Evan’s face, Zoe moved to sit next to him. “Everything okay there, Evan?” She asked kindly. “Yeah. Just lost in thought,” he responded. “You’ve been a bit spacey today. Something eating at you?” Evan shrugged. 

Noticing that Evan and Zoe seemed to be having an important conversation, Jared looked over at Zoe, silently asking if he could join in. She gave a slight nod. Alana, Connor, and Miguel soon made their way over too.

“You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to, but know that you can tell us anything,” Jared informed his friend. “Trust me, there’s nothing you could ever say crazier than what Jared told us and we all still tolerate him,” Connor added. Jared rolled his eyes, but otherwise let the comment go. 

Evan smiled at his friends. They were amazing people. He realized that at this point not telling them would only make them worry more. This was a past pain of his, but if he kept it a secret, it would cause pain the the present. 

“You guys all know how I broke my arm, right?” They all nodded. “You feel out of a tree, right?” Alana asked. “That’s what I told you, at least.” Evan said softly. Four confused faces stared back at him. The fifth smiled sadly. 

“You knew?” Evan asked Jared. “I suspected,” he replied. “Don’t forget that in the last world you wrote a heart-wrenching letter. I never knew for sure, and I didn’t want to press, but I had my suspicions.” Evan smiled sadly. “That’s why you said what you did the first day of school, isn’t it? You wanted to make it as clear as possible that you didn’t want me dead.” Jared nodded. “Your death would have crushed me. In the letter you asked if anyone would have noticed if you disappeared and I just wanted you to make sure you knew the answer was yes.”

Jared and Evan hugged. The others joined in a few seconds later as they all came to understand what had actually happened. “You don’t feel that way anymore, right Evan?” Zoe asked. “I don’t,” he confirmed. “I love my life and couldn’t imagine ever wanting to end it.” “Good!” she responded.

By the time they all released each other, there were many watery eyes, but for once no tears. Once again, Evan realized just how lucky he was to have these friends. Not only were they kind and supportive, but they trusted him too. They didn’t freak out or worry about his past decisions, but instead focused on his present self.

Evan smiled at the cool metal hugging his wrist. The bracelet Jared had given him fit there perfectly. It was a part of him now. And unlike his cast, it didn’t hinder him or hold him back. 

Noticing Evan admiring his bracelet, Jared moved closer to him. “Thanks for telling us what happened.” Evan smiled. “It feels good to finally tell everyone.” Jared nodded. “I get what you mean. I felt way better after sharing my story. Does your mom know?” Evan shook his head. “Not yet.” Jared smiled and took Evan’s hand. “No rush. I’m sure she’ll be supportive whenever you tell her.” Evan squeezed Jared’s hand back. “I’ll tell her soon. Probably not today, but when the moment seems right. I’m not ashamed by it anymore and as of today I’m not scared of hurting others with it. It’s a part of me I can’t erase, but it doesn’t define who I am.”

Evan looked down at the matching bracelets and smiled again. “And any time I start worrying about it, now all I need to do is look down.” Jared smiled back at Evan. “Hopefully most of the time all you’ll need to do is look around.” So Evan looked. Over on the wall Shrek 4 was playing, but sitting together on the couches were the people whose names lay across Evan’s wrist. He turned back to Jared. “You’re right. And even when I close my eyes, the faces still stay there. I really am not alone anymore.”

The six friends spent the night together, curled up with spare blankets and pillows. Despite the obnoxious volume of Miguel’s snoring, they all eventually dropped off to sleep, dreaming of the memories they had already created together and the memories they hoped to one day share with the others.


End file.
